The new IronPigs manager is back with the organization that drafted him and is loving it.

CLEARWATER, FLA. — — In 1986, Dave Brundage arrived at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Fla., to begin a career in professional baseball after being the Phillies' fourth-round pick in the June draft.

Twenty-seven years later, the 48-year-old returned to those same fields as the organization's newest Triple-A manager.

His reaction to being back where his career began was the first question Brundage was asked when he sat down last month for a question-and-answer session with Morning Call sportswriter Jeff Schuler during his first spring training as manager of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

MC: How does it feel to be back?

DB: Uh, it's tough to put into words. It is, it is. It's funny that the relationships, you know, in the game of baseball that started 27 years ago … walking back into that clubhouse and seeing my very first manager.

MC: Who was that?

DB: Roly de Armas, and Carlos Arroyo was pitching coach, and Ramon Henderson, and having played with him … a lot of that certainly brings back the memories. But that's why baseball is so special. You go away for 25 years, and certainly I probably remember more simply because it was my first year — for them, the older we get, the more the years run together — but it was very special to me to see them.

MC: What's been the memorable moment of the spring?

DB: Maybe being new, but there's a lot of people, a lot of faces, a lot of names and everything, but I think from top to bottom, one of the most respectful things that I see is that from top to bottom, I see how many good people are in this organization. It doesn't matter here if you water the field on field 5, or you're the rookie ball hitting coach or the Triple-A manager or the bench coach in the big leagues, everyone here is treated on the same level. And I think that goes a long ways for the people in that room [the player's clubhouse]. It's a great reminder of why we come to work every day.

MC: Who was your favorite manager during your playing days?

DB: I've been around a lot of great managers, and some big-name managers. Not that I played for them or anything like that, but I would have loved to play for a guy like Bobby Cox. Lou Piniella, I learned a lot from, whether good or bad. Right from the get-go, because he was my first manager, Roly de Armas would be there. He taught you that fire and that preparation and that work ethic, and you watch … . I played for a lot of different managers along the way.

MC: And you picked up something from each one of them?

DB: Yup. I think one thing that always stands out is that I've tried to take something from each manager, whether it be good or bad, you know — "This is something that I don't want to do," or "This is something I do want to do." And you put all those together and you sort of mold yourself into the type of manager and how you want to do things. I'm not perfect in any sense but at the same time I feel like I've taken something positive from each of them and molded myself into that manager you see today.

MC: You went straight into managing when your playing career was over. Was there any thought of doing anything else or was this something you just wanted to go right into?

DB: I think all along I knew that I wanted to manage, probably the last few years of my playing career. And I think one of the things that has really helped me from a managing standpoint is that, I got to do both [be a position player and a pitcher]. There's not a lot of people who can say that and be able to relate to the pitchers, and relate to the relievers.

My last couple of years I was a pitcher, and I think I utilize that now, and have always utilized that, with that rapport and that understanding of how to run a bullpen and what it's like … until you've been sitting down in that bullpen, or you've been a position player, playing seven years as a position player and the last two as a pitcher, it really helps me as a manager. It allows me to understand both sides.